Bengaluru: Raise “Durga” Alarm If You Face Harassment On BMTC Buses

The safety of women in public transports has been an issue of concern with the cases of harassment rising at an alarming rate. Various measures are been taken by public transport authorities across the country to make it safe again for women. One such effort is the ‘DURGA’ alarms installed by the Banglore Metropolitan Transport Corporation(BMTC) in its buses. According to the Deccan Herald, this initiative was taken to safeguard women and children against any sort of harassment in public transport.

How does this Alarm work

The BMTC has made a pact with Dare To Understand behaviour, Respond appropriately and Guard ourselves Ably (DURGA), a citizen initiative started by Priya Varadarajan for the installations of these alarms. Each of them is priced at Rs 7000 and has been designed by the students of MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology. The manufacturing was done by a Bengaluru based firm.

According to the New India Express, the switches for the alarms are placed on both sides of the buses on the panel between the windows, making them easily accessible even by children. To tackle the problems faced due to the language barrier, pictorial representation of the working of the alarms is also shown.

A protocol has to be followed after the alarm has been triggered, which consists of the driver taking the bus to the left-most part of the road and halting it. The conductor will know where the alarm has been raised and can intervene. If the situation is not addressable at that time, the Depot manager will be alerted who can call the police, if the situation requires. The Alarm has been pressed 10 times since February out of which 4 were the cases of sexual harassment, says Priya.

What is the DURGA

DURGA is a citizens initiative. This initiative was started by Priya Varadarajan to build the skills among girls and women required to recognize inappropriate behaviour and respond to public harassment. On the topic of the alarms, Priya told New India Express that these alarms have not only been used in the case of sexual harassment cases but also in the times of chain snatching and pickpocketing. “Soon the panic alarm system will be integrated with a GPS location of the buses, so that every time the alarm is pressed, the depot manager and traffic command centre of BMTC gets an alert”, Priya added.

Providing means of safety outside buses too

Apart from the alarms, DURGA has started a lot of other campaigns to make women aware of the means to defend themselves. The organisation recently started a drive called the ‘Safe Neighbourhood action programme’, under which they have identified numerous underprivileged schools and colleges in Jayanagar area and intends on teaching them how to respond to emergency situations. DURGA plans to train 1,500 girls by the end of this year and make them capable of tackling any harassment they might face on their own. The organisation also has an online module called ‘Anybody Can Be Durga’, under which they teach people how to tackle harassment by the means of video tutorials.

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This Diwali Let Us Rebuild Schools To Secure A Better Future For The Country

We all have memories attached to our schools. Yes, obviously we do, otherwise, why would we be all excited for our school’s 10-year reunion? Because reunions are the time when we get to relive those juvenile memories and cherish the good old days.

The times we shared the same bench with our best friend and played tic tac toe on the desk. The times we took toilet breaks in the middle of a class only to secretly loiter around the corridors. The brilliant lunches we shared with our friends on the school playground during recess. Reminiscing over these memories warms our hearts.

Did you know that at least 35 million children between the age group of 6-14 do not attend school in India? There have been several reports that girls drop out of school because of a lack of basic facilities such as toilets. These children are not only missing out on basic education, but they are also missing out on those wonderful memories.

In a bid to make early education accessible to all, HIL Limitedhas taken a wonderful initiative. HIL Limited believe in the fact that when we do things together, better things happen, standing by their philosophy of ‘Together We Build’. In the film, you can see a small child Kamli. The naive child makes a colorful paper lantern for Diwali and gifts it to her school, which is in shambles. She is eager to learn and her adamant heart still gives her the hope that the colourful lantern might make her broken school a little brighter. After her Diwali holidays, when she comes back to her school and finds it prettier her heart rejoices.

HIL Limited believes that education is the right step towards bringing young minds together and creating a feeling of togetherness. Their social initiative has helped 75,000 children like Kamli by rebuilding their schools.

Now, these children would not miss out on basic education. They will also get to make beautiful memories that they will cherish for a very long time. This would also make their future stronger and more reliable. If you know any such school that needs attention, then please write to[email protected].

The Logical Indian appreciates HIL Limited for the wonderful initiative they have taken to make the future of so many underprivileged children better. Children are the future of the country and we hope that by making their future secure, we are taking our country forward.